Western pilots are said to be serving under temporary contracts with six-month rotations, with the possibility of extensions. They are not integrated into the structure of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, do not receive Ukrainian military ranks, and are not entered into official military records.
Sources cited by the outlet state that the squadron includes Ukrainian, American and Dutch pilots. Among them is an American pilot with experience in numerous combat missions in Afghanistan, while another pilot has operational experience in the Middle East, and the Dutch aviators are described as graduates of leading aviation schools trained in air combat.
According to Intelligence Online, the experienced Western pilots are able to make better use of the F-16’s capabilities, including Sniper electro-optical targeting pods. Ukrainian personnel are reported to have only partial proficiency in operating these systems, reflecting an accelerated training process.
The involvement of experienced Western pilots had been discussed earlier when the transfer of F-16 aircraft to Ukraine was first announced, but no such step was taken at the time. As a result, Ukraine initially operated only a symbolic number of aircraft with domestically trained pilots and ground crews, which delayed the strengthening of its air force and limited the effective use of the newly delivered jets due to shortened training and limited experience.
Western countries including the Netherlands, Norway, Denmark and Belgium have pledged to supply Kyiv with a total of just under 100 F-16AM/BM aircraft. Most of these aircraft have likely already been delivered.
Source: Intelligence Online.
